The History of Everything
From the Big Bang to the Present Day
BROAD ERA I: COSMIC & PLANETARY ORIGINS
13.8 Billion Years Ago to 541 Million Years Ago
From the birth of the universe through the formation of Earth, the emergence of simple life, and the buildup of conditions necessary for complex organisms.
Sub-Era A: Cosmic Dawn
13.8B - 4.6B years ago
Big Bang & Early Universe
First Stars & Galaxies
Solar System Formation
Sub-Era B: Early Earth
4.6B - 2.5B years ago
Hadean Eon
Molten Earth, Moon Formation
Archean Eon
First Oceans, First Life, Photosynthesis
Sub-Era C: Oxygenation & Early Complex Life
2.5B - 541M years ago
Great Oxidation Event
Eukaryotic Revolution
Snowball Earth Events
First Multicellular Life
Ediacaran
BROAD ERA II: THE AGE OF COMPLEX LIFE
541 Million Years Ago to 300,000 Years Ago
From the Cambrian Explosion of animal life through the rise of mammals and the emergence of the genus Homo.
Sub-Era A: Paleozoic Era
541 - 252 MYA
Cambrian Explosion
Land Invasion
Ordovician through Devonian
Carboniferous Period
Giant Insects, Coal Forests
Permian Period & the Great Dying
Sub-Era B: Mesozoic Era
252 - 66 MYA
Triassic Period
Dinosaurs Emerge
Jurassic Period
Age of Giants
Cretaceous Period
Flowers, T. Rex, Asteroid Impact
Sub-Era C: Cenozoic Era
66 MYA - 300,000 years ago
Paleogene Period
Mammal Explosion
Neogene Period
Grasslands, Great Apes, Early Hominins
Early Pleistocene
Ice Ages, Genus Homo Emerges
BROAD ERA III: HUMAN PREHISTORY
300,000 Years Ago to c. 3,000 BCE
The era of anatomically modern humans before written records, from our species' emergence through the invention of agriculture and the threshold of civilization.
Sub-Era A: Paleolithic World
300,000 - 10,000 years ago
Homo Sapiens Emerges
Out of Africa & Global Migration
Cultural Revolution
Art, Language, Tools
Megafauna Extinctions
Sub-Era B: Neolithic Revolution
10,000 - 3,000 BCE
Beginnings of Agriculture
Spread of Farming & Village Life
Proto-Civilizations & Megaliths
BROAD ERA IV: RECORDED HISTORY
c. 3,000 BCE to Present
The era defined by written records, complex states, and accelerating global interconnection.
Sub-Era A: Ancient Period
3,000 BCE - 500 CE
Bronze Age Civilizations
3,000 - 1,200 BCE
Iron Age & Axial Age
1,200 - 500 BCE
Classical Age: Great Empires
500 BCE - 500 CE
Sub-Era B: Medieval Period
500 - 1450 CE
Early Medieval
500 - 1000
High Medieval
1000 - 1300
Late Medieval
1300 - 1450
Sub-Era C: Early Modern Period
1450 - 1800 CE
Renaissance & Age of Exploration
Reformation & Religious Wars
Scientific Revolution & Enlightenment
Sub-Era D: Modern Period
1800 - Present
Industrial Age
1800 - 1914
World Wars Era
1914 - 1945
Cold War / Atomic Age
1945 - 1991
Information Age
1991 - Present